Kelly's Koffee Shop (A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystey Book 1) (10 page)

“Why do I feel like the
other shoe’s about to drop?” Kelly asked.

“Because it did. That night
the young woman started hemorrhaging and before her parents could get medical
help, she died. Her parents found my business card in her purse with the
address where she was to go for the abortion. The police went to the address,
realized it was a medical facility, and called my friend, the doctor who owned
it. He told them I had called him and asked if I could see a patient in his
office. He didn’t know why I was seeing the patient or what I intended to do
while using his office. I really don’t blame him for telling them. It was him
or me. I was arrested and charged with manslaughter. To make a long story
short, a trial was held, but I had a magnificent attorney who was able to
convince the jury that although she died and the autopsy showed she’d had an
abortion, there was no link between any alleged malpractice on my part and her
death. In layman’s terms, her death was caused by a freak of nature, a blood
vessel which broke after she returned home and had nothing to do with the
abortion.”

“Doc, I’m surprised that
the family would agree to your being charged with manslaughter, given the
father’s high political profile. I can’t imagine they would want publicity like
that.”

“They didn’t want the
publicity, but it was out of their hands. They weren’t the plaintiffs, the
State of California was. It was a criminal trial, not a civil trial. When they
realized they couldn’t do anything about it, they turned it to their advantage
and made a media circus event out of it - grieving mother and father,
sweetheart of a young girl, evil doctor who performed an abortion. You get the
picture. The politician played it beautifully. It was an election year and he
won by a landslide. When it was over, my wife left me and took our two teenage
sons, who wanted nothing to do with me. I packed up and left town. I drove all
over the west coast, looking for a place to land. Fortunately, I’d inherited
some money from my parents, so I didn’t have to work. I found Cedar Bay and
here I am.”

“I’m curious what you and
Amber talked about.”

“Kelly, Amber was
pregnant. She and I talked occasionally at the coffee shop when she came in
after school to help you. One day she was waiting for me in the parking lot
when I pulled in at the usual time. She wondered if I was named Doc because I
was a real doctor. I told her I was, but that I was no longer practicing
medicine. I told her I’d retired. I thought that was the end of it. It wasn’t.
The next day she was waiting for me at the same time. She asked if she could
come out to the ranch and talk to me about something. I liked her and I knew
that it must be important if she wanted to talk to me privately at the ranch.”

“I can’t believe Roxie and
I missed seeing the two of you in the parking lot two days in a row. Guess I’m
not as good at noticing what’s up with people as I thought I was.”

“Don’t feel bad. Both
times were very short. Anyway, that afternoon she came out to the ranch. To
make a long story short, she told me she was pregnant and she was debating
whether or not to have an abortion. She told me she was struggling with it
because of her deep religious faith. She went on to say it would kill her
parents if she kept the baby because it would mean she couldn’t go to college
and they’d been so proud of her, but as strong Catholics, it would kill them
just as much if she had the abortion. I told her what had happened to me in
California when I’d performed an abortion on a young woman. We really bonded
that afternoon. I felt in some ways like she was the daughter I’d never had.”

“I’ll be back in a minute
Doc. I need a Kleenex. This is so, so sad.” She returned, blowing her nose with
her eyes much brighter than usual. “Please go on.”

“It was like ‘déjà vu’. I
told her if she made the decision to have an abortion, I would be happy to give
her information, but that I would not do an abortion on her under any
circumstances. When I heard she’d died, that was my first thought, that she’d
gone ahead and had an abortion and someone had botched it. Then I heard she’d
been murdered. I don’t understand why anyone would want to kill her.”

“Doc, did she tell you who
the father was?”

He looked at her, shocked
she would even ask the question. “No. It never occurred to me to ask. I assumed
it was that football guy she goes with. I think his name is Brandon Black. Do you
think someone else could have been the father?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying
to look for a motive, but I’m sure not finding one. I have a hard time
believing that Brandon murdered her. There must be someone else. Doc, I hate to
say this, but if people find out about your past and her pregnancy, even though
it looks like she didn’t have an abortion, you really might become a person of
interest in the murder investigation.”

“Yes, that was my first
thought when I heard about it. That’s why I asked you to tell me anything you
knew. Besides me, you’re the only one who knows she was pregnant and had asked
me for advice. She told me she hadn’t even told Brandon because she wanted to
make the decision on her own. You’re also the only one who knows that I told
her about my past. Kelly, I know you and Mike are close, but since I had
nothing to do with Amber’s murder, I would ask that you not tell him about this
conversation.”

“I won’t, Doc,” she said,
inwardly crossing her fingers.
Sheesh, two major lies in one day. The next
time I walk into church every bell will probably ring, letting everyone know
I’m a liar.
“Doc, it’s getting late and I need to pick up an order from
Lucy, drop it off at the coffee shop, and get some sleep. Thanks for talking to
me and I’m so sorry about what happened to you. I wish I could think of some
way you could use all that good medical knowledge you have. Seems like a shame
to waste it.”

“I’ve thought the same. If
you come up with an idea, let me know. Rebel, time for you to go. Kelly, mind if
I give him a little treat?”

“No. It’s past his dinner
time anyway.” At the words “dinner time,” Rebel’s tail began wagging and he
walked over to Doc who had opened the refrigerator.

“Rebel, sit,” Doc said. He
cut a piece of meat for Rebel and handed it to him. Even though Rebel weighed
ninety pounds, he delicately took it from Doc’s fingers.

“Doc, that looks like a
filet mignon steak. Did you just give my dog filet mignon?”

“Yeah,” Doc said
sheepishly. “It’s one of my vices.”

“Well when I feed him and
he won’t eat his canned dog food, I’ll be thinking evil thoughts of you,” she
said laughing. “Come on Rebel, time to go. Doc, I’ll see you tomorrow and
thanks for the tour. With these beautiful things, you might think about getting
a couple of guard dogs yourself.”

“Been tossing the idea
around, Kelly. I’ll let you know if I do. Course if you ever want to get rid of
Rebel, you know where to come. See you tomorrow.”

The next morning Rebel’s growl woke
Kelly up a few minutes before her alarm clock was scheduled to go off. He was
standing by the open window, guard hairs raised all along his back, creating a
dark line. “What’s up, Rebel? Something wrong?” He continued the low, rumbling
sound. She stood up and walked over to the window.

“Okay, I smell it too.
Must be a fire somewhere. I’ll get dressed and we’ll go outside.”

There was a faint orange
glow coming from what appeared to be a fire off in the distance. She heard the
sound of sirens and wondered where the fire was located.

Strange time of year for a
fire. They usually happen in late fall, long after the rains have stopped and
everything becomes dry. Well, I’m sure I’ll hear all about it at the coffee
shop this morning. This will be big news. Fires and forests don’t mix and
there’s plenty of forest land around here.

*****

“Morning, Madison, Roxie,” she said,
unlocking the coffee shop door. “Hope you both got a chance to relax yesterday.
Either one of you know what’s going on? I heard sirens when I got up and I can
still hear them. That glow in the sky sure looks like it’s coming from a pretty
good-sized fire outside of town somewhere.”

“No,” they answered in
unison, with looks of concern on their faces.

“It’s got to be a pretty
big fire,” Roxie said. “Just as I was leaving the house the phone rang and I
overheard Joe say he’d be right there. He’s a volunteer fireman. When the
county fire department starts calling for reinforcements from other areas, they
also alert the volunteers. I’ll call Joe later on and see what’s going on.”

On mornings like this, the
citizens of Cedar Bay found comfort in talking to one another. They were
actively discussing the finer points of the funeral service. Several of the
conservative Catholics were not happy that Father Brown had chosen to conduct
the service in a more relaxed manner. They preferred things to be the way
they’d always been. Others felt it was a beautiful service and perfect for a
young woman that was as well-liked as Amber. The debate went on and on.

Chris showed up as usual,
sat at the counter and ordered a ham omelet from Roxie while she poured his
coffee. When Kelly walked by, he said, “I want to thank you for referring me to
Seth Morrison. He’s pretty sure he can fix my computer, but he’ll have to keep
it a couple of days. Didn’t realize how dependent I’d become on that darn thing
to give me news and entertainment. I don’t even own a television set. I just
use my computer.”

“I know what you mean. I
can’t believe how things have changed in the last few years. I’m always amazed
by how many kids I see crossing streets or walking while they’re looking at
their phones.”

“Kelly, I’m a teacher. Can
you imagine what would happen in a classroom if nobody turned off their phones
during class? I mean, think about it. Every one of them has a phone they’ve put
some new song on as the ring tone. Or even a different song for different
people who call them. The first thing I have to do every morning is remind them
to turn off their phones. I was glad to know when I came here about the strict
policy the county school superintendent has on phones. If someone’s phone rings
during class, that person is immediately sent to the principal’s office. If it
happens a second time, he or she is suspended from class for the rest of that
school week. If it happens a third time, they’re expelled. It’s harsh, but it
sure works.”

“Well, it’s time for me to
get back to work, but it’s been good seeing you, Chris. Glad you’re back. I
need to pull some things from the ovens. See you tomorrow.”

As the morning wore on,
the talk turned to what seemed to be a very large fire. No one knew where it
was located. From time to time sirens could still be heard in the distance.
Wherever Kelly went, Rebel was right behind her. He sensed fires were dangerous
and since his self-appointed job in life was to insure her safety, he stayed
right next to her. Over the years, the customers had grown used to watching out
for him. Tripping over a ninety pound dog with not an ounce of fat on him was
like tripping over a brick wall. Kelly realized there was no way the dog was
going to get in his bed until the fire was out and there was no threat of
danger. She picked up his bed and took it to the storage room.

Late that morning, Roxie’s
husband, Joe, opened the door of the coffee shop. He was sweaty and covered
with soot. “Kelly, where’s Roxie? I need to talk to her.”

“She’s in the kitchen.”

A few minutes later they
both hurried out of the kitchen, Roxie untying her apron. “Kelly, is it okay if
I leave early? Something’s come up at home. I’ll call you later.”    

“Of course, sweetie.
Anything I can do?”

“No, but the fire was at
the Black’s ranch. Looks like it pretty much burned it up.”

“What?” she exclaimed, but
by that time Roxie and Joe had left.

A fire at the Black’s
ranch? Now what? Mike will know what’s happening
.  She walked into the kitchen, took
her phone from her purse and called him.

“This is Mike,” the voice
said. “I can’t take your call right now. Please leave your name and number and
I’ll get back to you.” She asked him to call and walked back into the main
room.

It was the tail end of the
lunchtime crowd and not many people were left in the coffee shop. A few of them
had heard Roxie say something about the fire being at the Black’s ranch and
asked Kelly if Roxie had told her anything more.

“No, and I tried to call
Mike, but all I got was his answerphone. I don’t know any more than you do. If
he calls, I’ll let you know.”

The last of the diners
left, several of them saying they were going to drive out to the Black’s ranch
and see what happened. Others were anxious to get on their phones and see what
they could find out. In most small towns gossip was the main entertainment and
Cedar Bay was no exception. It was fast, efficient, and sometimes right. It
reminded Kelly of the old Tarzan movies and the drumbeat messages sent by the
local natives.

Madison helped Kelly for
the next two hours, cleaning up and getting ready for the next day. Kelly knew
the fire danger was gone when Rebel consented to get on his bed while she made
the breakfast casseroles. There was only a faint smell of smoke in the air. She
couldn’t wait to talk to Mike.